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Vinnie Colaiuta
| birth_place = Brownsville, Pennsylvania, U.S. | genre = Rock, pop, jazz, funk, country, heavy metal | occupation = Musician | instrument = Drums | years_active = 1970s–present | label = Stretch, Moonjune | associated_acts = Frank Zappa, Jeff Beck, Sting, Herbie Hancock, Five Peace Band, Damian Drăghici, Joni Mitchell | website = }} Vincent Peter Colaiuta (born February 5, 1956) is an American drummer who has worked as a session musician in many genres. He was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 1996, and the Classic Drummer Hall of Fame in 2014. Music career Of Italian descent, Colaiuta was given his first drum kit when he was seven. He took to it naturally, with little instruction. When he was fourteen, the school band teacher gave him a book that taught him some of the basics. Buddy Rich was his favorite drummer until he heard the album Ego by Tony Williams, an event that changed his life. Colaiuta was also listening to organ groups, notably Jack McDuff, Jimmy McGriff and Don Patterson. While a student at Berklee College of Music, when jazz fusion was on the rise, he listened to and admired Alphonse Mouzon and Billy Cobham. After leaving school, he played local gigs in Boston. He joined a brief tour organized by Al Kooper, then worked in California on an album by Christopher Morris, which Kooper was producing. Although he returned to Boston, he was drawn back to California by friends and his experience recording. He took the bus from Boston to Los Angeles during the blizzard of 1978. After performing in jazz clubs, he won the audition to play drums for Frank Zappa. He toured with Zappa and appeared on the albums Joe's Garage, Tinsel Town Rebellion, and Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar. Modern Drummer magazine chose Joe's Garage as one of the top 25 drum performances of all time. Colaiuta was called out by name by Dale Bozzio (playing the character of Mary) in the lyrics of the song Catholic Girls. in the Five Peace Band, 2008]] In 1981, he left touring with Zappa to become a studio musician, recording for the band Pages and pop singer Gino Vannelli. Opportunities arose with saxophonist Tom Scott and bassist Larry Klein, who invited Colaiuta to play on a record by his then-girlfriend, Joni Mitchell. When Klein and Mitchell got married, Colaiuta was the best man at their wedding. During the 1980s, he toured with Mitchell. By the end of the 1980s he was living the busy life of a studio musician, recording albums, doing TV and film work during the day, and playing clubs at night. In addition to pop acts, he has worked with jazz musicians Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Buell Neidlinger, and the Buddy Rich Big Band. In 1990, Colaiuta got a phone call from Sting, flew to England, and won the audition to become a member of his band. He remained with Sting for much of the 1990s, touring and recording the albums Ten Summoner's Tales (1993), Mercury Falling (1996), Brand New Day (1999) and Sacred Love (2003). On November 12, 2016, he played with Sting in the first concert to be held at the Bataclan in Paris since the terrorist attack a year earlier. In 1994, he released his debut solo album. He has won over fifteen Drummer of the Year awards from Modern Drummer magazine's annual reader polls. These include ten awards in the "Best Overall" category.[http://www.vinniecolaiuta.com/articles/moderndrummer82.aspx Modern Drummer interview] , vinniecolaiuta.com; accessed October 26, 2014. Partial discography As leader * 1994 Vinnie Colaiuta (Stretch) * 2018 Descent into Madness (Extreme Production Music) With Jing Chi (with Robben Ford and Jimmy Haslip) * 2002 Jing Chi * 2003 Jing Chi Live at Yoshi's * 2004 3D * 2017 Supremo As sideman With Joni Mitchell * 1982 Wild Things Run Fast * 1985 Dog Eat Dog With Tom Scott * 1982 Desire * 1987 Streamlines * 1988 Flashpoint * 1999 Smokin' Section With Sting * 1993 Ten Summoner's Tales * 1996 Mercury Falling * 1999 Brand New Day * 2003 Sacred Love * 2016 57th & 9th With Frank Zappa * 1979 Joe's Garage * 1981 Tinseltown Rebellion * 1981 Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar * 1983 The Man From Utopia * 1988 Guitar * 1991 Any Way the Wind Blows * 1995 Strictly Commercial * 1988 You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 1 * 1991 You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 4 * 1992 You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 6 * 1996 The Lost Episodes (1996) * 1996 Frank Zappa Plays the Music of Frank Zappa: A Memorial Tribute * 1997 Have I Offended Someone? * 1999 Son of Cheep Thrills * 2003 Halloween * 2006 Trance-Fusion * 2007 Buffalo * 2016 Chicago '78 With others * 1981 Nightwalker, Gino Vannelli * 1982 Tvær Systur, Jakob Magnusson * 1982 Quiet Lies, Juice Newton * 1983 Dirty Looks, Juice Newton * 1983 Youngblood, Carl Wilson * 1984 Emotion, Barbra Streisand * 1985 Soul Kiss, Olivia Newton-John * 1986 The Bridge, Billy Joel * 1986 Te Amaré, José Feliciano * 1987 John Patitucci, John Patitucci * 1987 Northern Nights, Dan Siegel * 1987 Famous Blue Raincoat, Jennifer Warnes * 1987 Portrait, Lee Ritenour * 1988 Close-Up, David Sanborn * 1988 Last Days of the Century, Al Stewart * 1988 Talk to Your Daughter, Robben Ford * 1988 The Real Me, Patti Austin * 1988 I'm Your Man, Leonard Cohen * 1988 Get Here, Brenda Russell * 1988 Positive, Peabo Bryson * 1988 Voices of the Heart, Eric Marienthal * 1988 Y Kant Tori Read, Tori Amos * 1989 Mr. Jordan, Julian Lennon * 1989 Music, My Love Jean-Pierre Rampal * 1989 Secrets, Allan Holdsworth * 1989 The Warmer Side of Cool, Wang Chung * 1989 Upright, Philip Aaberg * 1989 Other Places, Brandon Fields * 1990 Blue Pacific, Michael Franks * 1990 The Works, Nik Kershaw * 1990 Other Voices, Paul Young * 1991 House of Hope, Toni Childs * 1991 Swept, Julia Fordham * 1991 Still, Tony Banks * 1992 The Future, Leonard Cohen * 1992 Life Is Messy, Rodney Crowell * 1992 Fat City, Shawn Colvin * 1992 The Hunter, Jennifer Warnes * 1993 My World, Ray Charles * 1993 Rendezvous, Christopher Cross * 1994 Emperors of Soul, The Temptations * 1994 Heart to Heart, Diane Schuur, B.B. King * 1995 Good News from the Next World, Simple Minds * 1995 I'll Lead You Home, Michael W. Smith * 1995 Soul Survivor, Bobby Caldwell * 1995 The Promise, John McLaughlin * 1995 If My Heart Had Wings, Melissa Manchester * 1995 No Resemblance Whatsoever, Dan Fogelberg * 1995 Out of My Hands, Jennifer Rush * 1996 It's Good, Eve, Vonda Shepard * 1997 Blue Moon Swamp, John Fogerty * 1997 Blue Tav, Steve Tavaglione * 1998 Traeme La Noche, Gustavo Cerati, Andy Summers * 1998 Spirit, Jewel * 1999 Deja Vu, Frank Vignola * 1999 The Whole SHeBANG, SheDaisy * 2000 Celebrating the Music of Weather Report, Jason Miles * 2000 Lara Fabian, Lara Fabian * 2000 Fingerprints, Larry Carlton * 2000 Paris Rain, Brenda Russell * 2000 Isn't She Great, Burt Bacharach * 2000 Live From Blue Note Tokyo, Chick Corea * 2000 Two Against Nature, Steely Dan * 2001 Night Sessions, Chris Botti * 2001 Christmas Memories, Barbra Streisand * 2001 Trouble in Shangri-La, Stevie Nicks * 2001 Shared Secrets, George Cables * 2002 The Well, Jennifer Warnes * 2002 Cry, Faith Hill * 2002 Morning, Noon, & Night, Bob James * 2002 Queen of the Damned: Music from the Motion Picture * 2002 Twisted Angel, LeAnn Rimes * 2003 1, 2, to the Bass, Stanley Clarke * 2003 Big Fun, Bill Evans * 2003 Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook, Bette Midler * 2003 Clean Up, Ilse DeLange * 2003 Michael Bublé, Michael Bublé * 2004 Earth + Sky, Andy Summers * 2004 Renee Olstead, Renee Olstead * 2004 The Futurist, Robert Downey * 2004 A Christmas Album, James Taylor * 2004 Speak, Lindsay Lohan * 2004 Heart & Soul, Joe Cocker * 2004 The System Has Failed, Megadeth * 2005 Fireflies, Faith Hill * 2005 It's Time, Michael Bublé * 2005 A Little Soul in Your Heart, Lulu * 2005 American Made World Played, Les Paul * 2006 Cool Yule, Bette Midler * 2006 Whatever We Wanna, LeAnn Rimes * 2006 Givin' It Up, George Benson, Al Jarreau * 2006 Awake, Josh Groban * 2006 James Taylor at Christmas, James Taylor * 2007 Do svitanja, Vlado Georgiev * 2007 Call Me Irresponsible, Michael Bublé * 2008 Jeff Beck: Performing This Week... Live at Ronnie Scott's, Jeff Beck * 2008 Soul Speak, Michael McDonald * 2009 Five Peace Band Chick Corea, and John McLaughlin, with Christian McBride and Wayne Garret * 2009 My One and Only Thrill, Melody Gardot * 2009 Crazy Love, Michael Bublé * 2009 Patrizio, Patrizio Buanne * 2009 Tide, Luciana Souza * 2010 Emotion & Commotion, Jeff Beck * 2010 Singularity, Robby Krieger * 2010 Truth Be Told, Mark Egan * 2011 Daydream, Katherine Jenkins * 2011 Christmas, Michael Bublé * 2012 5th House, Dominic Miller * 2012 Kisses on the Bottom, Paul McCartney * 2013 Unstoppable Momentum, Joe Satriani * 2013 Daljina, Vlado Georgiev * 2014 Map to the Treasure: Reimagining Laura Nyro, Billy Childs * 2015 No Pier Pressure, Brian Wilson * 2015 Today Is Christmas, LeAnn Rimes * 2015 Stages, Josh Groban * 2016 The American Dream, Damian Drăghici * 2016 Remnants, LeAnn Rimes * 2016 Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway, Barbra Streisand * 2017 Alone, Toto * 2017 Cosmopolitain, Kamil Rustam * 2018 Traces, Steve Perry * 2018 Another Time, Another Place, Jennifer Warnes * 2018 ARC Trio, Scott Kinsey, Jimmy Haslip, Gergo Borlai * 2019 Far More, Lari Basilio * 2019 Saab Guitar Project, Douglas Saab * 2019 War in My Mind, Beth Hart References Category:1956 births Category:Living people Category:American people of Italian descent Category:Berklee College of Music alumni Category:American session musicians Category:People from Brownsville, Pennsylvania Category:Grammy Award winners Category:American jazz musicians Category:20th-century American drummers Category:American male drummers Category:Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania Category:Male jazz musicians